What Is Bipolar Disorder?
If you are struggling to manage bipolar disorder, you do not have to do it alone. Speak with our team of mental health professionals to get started.
Life with bipolar disorder involves navigating intense shifts between extreme emotional highs and lows.
One moment, you may feel energetic, creative, and invincible. Next, you can be plunged into a deep depression so profound it’s difficult to get out of bed. These intense shifts in mood, energy, and behavior are not a choice or flaw in character; they are hallmarks of a complex but highly treatable condition.
At Resilient Psychotherapy & Psychiatric Services, we understand the profound challenges of bipolar disorder. A comprehensive evaluation is the first step toward managing your symptoms and building a more stable, fulfilling life.
Understanding Bipolar Disorder and Its Cycles
Bipolar disorder is a brain condition causing extreme shifts in mood, energy, and concentration that go far beyond normal emotional ups and downs. The distinct emotional states are known as mood episodes, which are typically categorized as manic, hypomanic, or depressive.
Manic Episodes: The Extreme High
A manic episode is a distinct period where a person experiences an unusually intense and persistent mood—either euphoric, expansive, or extremely irritable—along with an increase in energy and activity. To be diagnosed as a manic episode, this state must last for at least one week and cause clear impairment in social or occupational functioning.
During a manic episode, a person might feel euphoric, full of grand ideas, and more important than others. They often have racing thoughts and talk very rapidly, jumping from one idea to the next. There is a significantly decreased need for sleep, with individuals feeling rested after only a few hours. During these episodes, a person might act impulsively and take big risks, such as driving recklessly or making poor financial choices. While it can feel good initially, mania can quickly become frightening and destructive.
Hypomanic Episodes: A Less Severe High
A hypomanic episode shares the same symptoms as a manic episode, but not as severe. The episode only needs to last for four consecutive days and, crucially, it is not severe enough to cause major problems in daily functioning or require hospitalization.
For many with bipolar disorder, hypomania can feel productive and energizing. You might be more social, more creative, and more talkative than usual. Because it can feel good and even lead to increased productivity, hypomania is often difficult to recognize as a symptom of a disorder, both for the individual and their loved ones. However, it is an unstable state that is often a precursor to a full manic episode or is followed by a crash into depression.
Major Depressive Episodes: The Overwhelming Low
A major depressive episode lasts at least two weeks, marked by a profoundly low mood or a distinct loss of interest and pleasure in nearly all activities. This is much more than just sadness; it’s a persistent state of deep emotional pain and emptiness.
Symptoms include significant changes in sleep and appetite, overwhelming fatigue and loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt, difficulty concentrating, and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide. It is a heavy, debilitating state that makes everyday tasks feel impossible.
The Different Types of Bipolar Disorder
This disorder looks different for everyone, but it usually falls into one of three main categories:
Bipolar I Disorder
This type is defined by the occurrence of at least one manic episode. People with Bipolar I often experience hypomanic and major depressive episodes as well, but the presence of a full manic episode is the primary identifier. The highs are very high, and the potential for life-disrupting consequences is significant.
Bipolar II Disorder
Bipolar II disorder is defined by having at least one hypomanic and one major depressive episode, but no history of mania. For many with Bipolar II, the periods of depression are often more frequent and last longer than the periods of hypomania, and it is typically the depression that has the most impact and leads them to seek help.
Cyclothymic Disorder (Cyclothymia)
This is a milder form of the disorder defined by a two-year or longer history of many periods with hypomanic symptoms and periods with depressive symptoms, without ever meeting the full criteria for a hypomanic or major depressive episode. While the moods are less extreme, the persistent instability can still significantly impact relationships and daily life.
Find Stability With Professional Help
While bipolar disorder is a lifelong condition, it can be managed effectively. The goal of treatment isn’t to change your personality, but to stabilize your moods so you can live a full, consistent life. This is typically achieved through a combination of medication and psychotherapy.
Medication management is the cornerstone of treatment, using mood stabilizers and other medications to provide the stability needed for recovery. Paired with medication, therapy helps you understand the illness, identify triggers, develop coping skills, maintain healthy routines, and repair relationships.
Reach Out to Our Mental Health Professionals
You don’t have to navigate the unpredictable cycles of bipolar disorder alone. At Resilient Psychotherapy & Psychiatric Services, we offer a uniquely discreet and personalized approach to mental health. Our integrated practice offers the expertise of both a psychiatrist and a psychologist. This allows us to create a complete treatment plan tailored to your specific needs.
Schedule a confidential appointment today to learn how our expert care can help you find your footing.